A young boy named Oliver’s been kidnapped, and the scared citizens of Willowsville are blaming the Owl Man from their rival town, Nightsville. Long thought to be a made-up story to scare the kids, the Owl Man seems to be real… and he’s coming for you…

There are loads of exciting new elements in this game, from interactive deduction dialogues to a special Foresight Mode. Your old pal, Elf, is back on the scene, too!

Customer Reviews

Mystery Trackers: Nightsville Horror
3.7
5
25
25

The Owlman, A Good Omen For One Town, A Nightmare For The Other!
When the town of Nightsville began sinking into the swamp, the local Sheriff gathered the townsfolk and relocated them to a new town called Willowsville. Not long after their relocation, a villain began to prey upon the citizens, many took his side when the Sheriff exiled them back to Nightsville, and consequently started a deep seeded hatred between the two neighboring towns. Over the years, people began to catch glimpses of "The Owlman," the citizens of Nightsville claim that he is their protector, Willowsville, however is terrified of this omen, and are blaming the recent kidnapping of Oliver Johnson, on this mysterious half man, half owl abomination! This is a case that only Elf can solve, with a little help from Mystery Trackers Detective of course!
An old man who appears to be blind, pops up out of seemingly nowhere to give you the "Gift of Sight" which allows you to see scenes in a whole different light, the way it was before something traumatic happened. Once you return items to their correct places, the sight reveals what happened there step by step, allowing you to piece together the evidence. When you speak to different characters, you are given several questions to ask, and you can choose which questions you want to ask in any order, but so far, all of the questions must be asked. You will collect three pieces of evidence for each scenario, once you have collected the corresponding evidence, you will be able to make a deduction about what happened, which is presented in sketched drawings for visualization. There are Plus Signs on some of the inventory items indicating that some type of interaction is needed before the item can be used such as combining the item with another inventory item or a quick puzzle such as turning cylinder sections to complete a picture.
The Hidden Object Scenes are well done, a little on the dark side, but items are easily recognizable, most scenes require you to find items that match silhouetted shapes shown in groups which reveals a part to the final item. There are also scenes requiring you to place items from the inventory bar into the scene where they logically belong. There are smaller Mini Games such as turning several discs to allow rods to engage from the center hub to the outer ring. Then there's those long, complicated puzzles, where you have to match the numbers and birds on the code deck with the ones on the wheel, using the numbers and birds that are already set as a clue. The second set requires you to do the same thing with numbers, filling in the blank spaces according to the numerical pattern.
The Collectors Edition has Wallpapers, Concept Art, Music, a Secret Room, Achievements, Collectible Coins and Figurines, Morphing Objects, Monsters, a Vending Machine, a built in Strategy Guide, and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
April 24, 2015

SUPERB GAME - ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT
REVIEW FROM COMPLETED GAME
There is:
* Casual, Advanced, Hardcore and Custom modes;
* Voiceovers (with dialogue);
* Interactive map (with diary);
* Elf the dog to help you;
* Use the Gift of Sight (eye) to see what happened.
In this game you play a detective to find and rescue Oliver who has been kidnapped.
The graphics are very good - mostly kind of darkish and gray but easy to see everything. There is some colour and its definitely not cartoony or too bright.
Sound and music are very good - I noticed a lot of piano and guitar and I had it turned up very loud throughout the game.
The hidden objects games were interactive straightforward, silhouette and putting items back. These were fairly easy to do.
The mini-games were great and had a good challenge to them. There was a good variety with all the classics that we love to play plus some new ones I hadn't seen before. I enjoyed these and played all of them.
There were also a few puzzles - which are not too hard this time round. I managed to do them all without too much hair pulling. I thought that they were easier than the MCF Dire Grove puzzles. They were fun to do without being frustrating.
So do you get the CE or SE? Honestly I really enjoyed the CE. As well as a long bonus game, which in all honesty I enjoyed better than the main game, there are also
20 achievements, 10 collectibles to find, 22 morphing objects to find, coins to locate for vending machine and a Secret Room. So definitely well worth your hard earned money. There is definitely another couple of hours or more playing at the very least.
I most definitely recommend this game - well worth putting in your collection.
April 24, 2015

Things Are Not Always As They Seem On The Surface!
BASED ON COMPLETED GAME
After playing the demo I was kind of on the fence about purchasing this game. Because of a good sale and the aspects of the game that I DID like, I purchased it and ended up playing an EXCELLENT game!
At first, I viewed "the sight" as a device to prolong gameplay. The more I got into the STORY, the better I enjoyed it. It ended up being a unique way to "see" the actions of the crime and give hints as to the identity of the true culprit.
It was very easy to immerse myself in the world and story of this game, mainly due to the excellent graphics. Very atmospheric! If you choose to play, take a look at the individual townspeople. It was good to see people that looked like REAL people. Everyone was definitely not perfect and pretty.
The HOS weren't difficult, but were definitely in keeping with the theme. The mini-games and multi-layered puzzles were a big plus for me. Not as hard as they first seemed and SO much fun to do. If I had the choice, I would liked to have seen MORE of those.
I appreciated the truth of the story beneath the kidnapping story. The true "horror" is not always what it seems to be on the surface.
I got the CE version of this game because I am a sucker for a good monster and it had the morphing mythic monster collectibles. Access to a secret room allowed play of some of the HOS and complex puzzles on a timed basis. It also had a story character vending machine as well as the normal CE extras.
The bonus game had more of a supernatural theme that could have been fun as an entirely separate game.
This turned out to be my favorite Mystery Trackers game of the whole bunch! SE or CE, I don't think you can go wrong. Different, entertaining, and definitely worth playing!
April 24, 2015

One of the better current story games out there now...
My review is based on the SE game. I've played all the other Mystery Trackers games and have enjoyed them, except for dark scenes and a few frustrating mini games/puzzles here and there. I really like the Owl Man story in this one; it's different and intriguing. There are 4 gameplay modes; Elf the tiny dog is back to help you get into tight places; there's a new "Gift of Sight" element and I agree with other reviewers that it's a bit clunky but it does provide some answers in a "this is what really happened" way; hidden objects are presented in a variety of ways; puzzles and mini games are pretty good even though it might take a minute to figure out what you're supposed to do. This is a definite buy for me, but I am tempted to get the CE as reviews have been very positive; it comes with a good bonus game, collectibles, morphing objects, and other additions.
April 25, 2015

What a fun game!!
I really enjoyed playing this game. The location could have been in the Louisiana Bayou. The graphics were very good and scenery was eerie. The game takes place at night which adds to the atmosphere.
I loved investigating a kidnapping of a young boy and being able to select the questions you wanted to ask the suspects. You gathered 3 clues before making your deduction on each suspect, ruling them out as you go.
There wasn't a lot of going back and forth, which I liked. I never felt at a loss as to where to go next. I didn't use the map or hint button very often (which is unusual for me). You basically went from one location to the next, investigating as you went.
I thought it was really a fun game, one I didn't want to stop playing and that doesn't happen very often.
Thank you Big Fish and Elephant for such a good game. Please give us another one like this.
May 24, 2015

you are looking for oliver and "the owlman"
this game has a custom level. it also has an interactive map. you are trying to track down a kidnapped boy and "the owlman" who everyone says is the one that took him. this is the story of two towns that have nothing to do with each other by choice. you investigate the kidnapping until you can deliver the boy back to his mom. the ending was surprising. the graphics were good and the HO scenes also included some fragmented ones. also a reverse HO scene. sequel...always has been one in the past.
April 30, 2015

BUYOU This game!
I really, really enjoyed this game! I almost didn't get it because it looked like the game was going to be dark and kind of ugly, it was, but it was the perfect ambiance for this game. I demo'ed & purchased a lot of games over the holidays due to the great sales. I demo'ed this game but didn't purchase it, I purchased others but the whole time my mind kept thinking about this game so I gave in and purchased it too. I then started playing it and didn't want to stop until the end. It was FANTASTIC!! I'm not a big fan of the mechanics Elephant normally uses in their games (back & forth, back & forth.& Pick something up stick it here, rinse and repeat) but I love the series they put out. Unlike Mad Head or Artifex Mundi who tell a story wonderfully in all their games Elephant in my opinion does not, or the story gets lost. They aren't normally all that creative with game play either but they were here. This game felt different then the other Elephant games, better! 1. There was a great story told well. 2. The game was pretty much straight forward used common sense and there was very little back and forth and back and forth which is usually their modus operandi. The game was shorter due do this but it was cohesive, straight forward and a lot of fun! I would much rather a good clean straight forward game that's shorter then one that makes you run all over the place for nothing other then to extend game play.
I loved having the gift of sight and putting clues together in each location and drawing a conclusion of what happened in that location, it moved the story along and you really felt like you were an investigator in the game! It made it so much more enjoyable then just plodding along through a game picking up pieces placing them here there and everywhere. I really loved that there were stories told through out the game as well as the overall arch of the game that was solved nice and tidy at the very end. (who was the bad guy/gal) I will probably play this game again which is something I almost never do. Yes I highly recommend this game!.
January 3, 2016

Great Game
well worth downloading - great story line also
graph's are great also.
keeps you on your toes
April 25, 2015

This game held me
Just want to say how much I enjoyed playing this game. It was offered cheap and not one to miss a bargain I snapped it up.
Yes the storyline was simple but nonetheless I was hooked and played the game in a couple of days. I've always found elephant games to be good and this one was no exception. And I didn't get lost once ....
July 23, 2015

The Owl Man Cometh
You are once again the detective, this time called in to investigate the apparent kidnapping of a young boy from his home. The locals believe the culprit to be a mythical Owl Man, used to scare the children and central to a feud with a neighboring village.
This is a good solid game with several questionable features and a cute helper.
First off - our cute helper is Elf, the chihuahua from previous Mystery Trackers games. Elf is all business and well behaved.
The questionable features are both new and "borrowed" from other ERS games. The evidence board is a borrow, but seems to move the story along, rather than impede it. The "Second Sight" is a new device. It is a clunky element that is mildly amusing at first and pales over time, especially when the game insists you use it, but then you need to find items outside that special screen to finish that screen. At least when you finish the special screen, you get a series of drawings and a narration that propels the story forward.
There are four levels of game-play, including custom level. The HOPs are varied and often in a monochromatic hue that makes finding items more difficult than it need be. The mini-games were good, although at least one of them needed better instructions. Expect an abundance of blues and purples in the artwork.
The VOs did not sound like Louisiana, but they were passable. Animation was very basic. The story is actually interesting and developed well.
This Mystery Trackers is better than some of the past games and not as good as others. Take a look at the demo for yourself. I liked the story and played through to the end.
April 24, 2015